Process and apparatus for the continuous manufacture of internally partitioned tubular liners

ABSTRACT

THE CONTINUOUS FORMATION OF TUBULAR LINERS DIVIDED INTERNALLY INTO THREE COMPARTMENTS BY MEANS OF A SINGLE WEB OF PARTITION FORMING MATERIAL.

Mardl 1971. R. w. NERENBERG PRQCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF INTERNALLY PARTITIONED TUBULAR LINERS Filed July 29, 1969 INVENTOR/S Robert W Neren berg 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

BY k adda, Q9242 ana Wvan ATTOR NEYS March 23, 1971 w N ER 3,572,220

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE 0F INTERNAL-LY PARTITIONED TUBULAR LINERS Filed July 29, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 1x 1 J1 /I3I lNVENTOR/S Robert W Neren berg BY and Will! ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 938 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The continuous formation of tubular liners divided internally into three compartments by means of a single web of partition forming material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Folding cartons which are pre-lined with tubular liners have come into widespread use in the packaging field. Thus, Bergstein Pat. 2,099,257, dated Nov. 16, 1937, teaches a four-wall knock-down carton having a flatfolded tubular liner which is automatically opened when the body walls of the surrounding carton are extended to their erected condition. An early effort to make multiple carton liners for knocked-down carton structures is taught in Bergstein Pat. 2,617,576, dated Nov. 11, 1952, the individual compartments being formed by joining together a plurality of separate tubular sleeves which were then associated with the carton blanks. Such arrangement required a plurality of tubular members for each liner structure, which added materially to the cost of the structure both from the standpoint of the quantity of lining material required and the machine operations required to form the individual tubes and to assemble them into the desired multiple compartment structure. In addition, the type of equipment required to form and combine the individual liners was comparatively slow in operation.

A significant advance was achieved in Bergstein et al. Pat. 3,014,596, dated Sept. 24, 1963, wherein apparatus and procedures were taught for the efficient and economic manufacture of a two-compartment liner wherein the liner tube was partitioned by means of a narrow web of partition forming material the opposite edges of which were secured to the opposing wall surfaces of the flat-folded liner tube, the tube when expanded by the carton with which it was associated acting to bring the internal partition to a position at substantially right angles to the wall surfaces to which its opposite edges were secured, thereby effectively dividing the liner into a pair of side-by-side compartments.

The present invention relates to an improvement in the apparatus and procedures taught in the aforementioned US. Pat. 3,104,596 and has to do specifically with the provision of procedures and apparatus by means of which a tubular liner may be divided internally into three side-byside compartments by means of a single web of partition forming material. Thus, in contrast to the triple compartment liners taught in the aforementioned Bergstein US. Pat. 2,617,576 which required a multiplicity of individual liners, together with a special form of six-body wall folding carton, the three-compartment liners constructed in accordance with the instant invention may be utilized in conjunction with a conventional four-wall folding carton and at a substantial savings of material in that the partitions are formed from a single web of partition forming material and utilize substantially less material than would be required were the compartments defined by separate tubular members. At the same time, the procedures and apparatus employed to form the compartmented tubes are capable of high speed continuous operation.

RESUME OF THE ENVENTION In accordance with the invention, the liner structure is composed of two webs of liner forming material, the first web defining the walls of the tubular sleeve, and the second web forming the internal partitions. The materials from which the webs are formed do not constitute limitations on the invention, and may comprise foils, nonfibrous films, and various combinations thereof, which impart the desired proofing characteristics to the structure. A combination which is particularly suitable where moisture-vapor proofness is desired comprises aluminum foil laminated to paper as a supporting web, with the exposed surface of the foil coated with polyethylene, which is readily heat-scalable, thereby facilitating the sealing of the liner as well as the attachment of the internal partitions. Preferably, the material used to form the internal partitions will comprise an inherently fusible film, such as polyethylene, which can be secured to the inner surfaces of the surrounding tubular sleeve.

In forming the liner structure, the two webs of material will be continuously Withdrawn, from supply rolls and juxtaposed prior to their passage around a sealing roll which supports the webs while they are acted upon by a spaced apart pair of sealing members which act to secure the partition forming web to the sleeve forming web at spaced apart intervals. In this connection, the sleeve forming web will be outermost with respect to the sealing roll and will be substantially wider than the partition forming web, the width of the sleeve forming web being sulficient to define, when tubed, a sleeve having the desired crosssectional dimensions for the liner structure, whereas the partition forming web need only be of a width to define the transverse partition and the median band which interconnects them along one wall of the sleeve. The partition forming web will be sealed to the inner surface of the sleeve forming web along a pair of spaced apart, longitudinally extending seam lines spaced inwardly from the opposite side edges of the partition forming web, with the two seams spaced from each other by the desired width of the middle compartment of the three-compartment structure. In this connection, the liner structure may comprise three compartments of equal size, or the compartments may be of different widths in one direction, if so desired. Normally, the erected liner will be of rectangular crosssection, with the partitions extending perpendicular to the wider pair of wall defining portions of the sleeve. In any event, the width of the partition forming web between its opposite side edges and the adjoining longitudinal seams will be equal to the transverse or narrow dimension of the erected liner, i.e., the width of the partitions, plus a marginal band of a width sufiicient to permit the free marginal edges of the partition walls so defined to be sealed to the opposing wall surface of the liner sleeve.

Following the sealing of the partition forming web to the sleeve forming web in the manner just described, the juxtaposed webs are delivered to a tubing station at which they pass beneath an elongated former or mandrel about which the sleeve forming web is adapted to be tubed. However, prior to the passage of the webs beneath the mandrels, one side of the partition forming web is first infolded along a line immediately to the outside of the adjoining longitudinal seam, so that, as the webs pass beneath the former, both of the partition defining walls will extend in the same direction. Care must be taken, however, in dimensioning the structure so that the free side edges of the partition walls do not overlap each other following infolding.

As the combined webs move beneath the mandrel, the outermost edges of the sleeve forming web are infolded over the mandrel and juxtaposed, preferably in face-to-face relationship to form a longitudinal fin-type seal. In this connection, where the inner surface of the sleeve comprises polyethylene coated foil, the polyethylene surfaces will be juxtaposed and may be readily sealed together, although it will be evident that a suitable adhesive could be employed, if so desired. Once the web has been tubed, the tubed structure will be acted upon by heating bars which are positioned to overlie the marginal side edges of the partition defining walls, the sealing bars contacting the uppermost surface of the tube sleeve and acting through the sleeve to seal the marginal edge portions of the partitions to the inner surface of the uppermost wall of the tubed sleeve. To this end, the mandrel is provided with elongated slots positioned to overlie the free side edges of the partition walls which otherwise underlies the mandrel, the exposed marginal edge portions of the walls thus being exposed through the slots for contact with the overlying portions of the sleeve. Rollers, preferably in the form of small steel wheels, are positioned beneath the mandrel in alginment with the slots and arranged to project upwardly into the slots, thereby acting to press the undersurface of the liner sleeve and the free side edges of the partition walls upwardly through the slots so that their free side edges will be juxtaposed to the inner surface of the upper portion of the liner, thereby effecting a seal between the contacting parts. Preferably, the heating bars will be followed by cooling bars acting to set the seals; and in the event the marginal edges of the partition walls are also adhered to the underlying wall surface of the tubular sleeve, means are provided to force apart the marginal edges of the partitions and the underlying wall of the sleeve.

Following the sealing of the marginal side edges of the partitions to the surrounding sleeve, the structure may be transversely severed into liners of the desired length for use as such, or the liners so-formed may be conveyed directly to mechanism for associating them with carton blanks in the manner taught in the aforementioned Bergstein US. Pat. 3,104,596.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of apparatus for forming a partitioned liner in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in vwhich the sleeve forming web and the partition forming web are sealed together at spaced apart intervals.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged vertical sectional views taken along the lines 4-4, 55, 6-6, and 7-7, respectively, of FIG. 2, illustrating successive stages in the folding and tubing of the webs.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the trailing end of the mandrel about which the webs are tubed.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 99 of FIG. 2 showing the manner in which the free side edges of the partitions are sealed through slots in the mandrel to overlying portions of the sleeve.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged end elevational view illustrating the completed sleeve structure in partially expanded condition.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the sleeve structure in fully expanded condition.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the sleeve structure as it would be used to line a conventional folding carton.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, a supply of sleeve forming material 1 is fed from a supply roll 2, the web passing upwardly around an idler roll 3 mounted on the machine frame 4 which also mounts a supply roll 5 of partition forming material 6. The sleeve forming material 1 and the partition forming material 6 are jointly fed around a guide roller 7, with the sleeve forming web 1 outermost, whereupon the two webs are caused to jointly pass around a relatively large diameter sealing roll 8 which acts to bring the two webs into intimate contact. Heating bars 9 and 9a (see also FIG. 3), preferably in the form of curved shoes shaped to conform to the cylindrical surface of the sealing roll, act to seal the partition forming web to the sleeve forming web at spaced apart intervals to form the longitudinal seams 10 and 11, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4. Sealing shoes of the type taught in Bergstein US. Pat. 3,104,596 may be employed to effect the seams 10 and 11, the shoes being laterally adjustable to position them in the desired locations. In addition, the shoes will be retractable so as to remove them from contact with the webs upon stoppage of the machine, thereby preventing overexposure of the shoes to the heat fusable materials.

Longitudinal seams 1t} and 11 act to divide the partition forming web into partition walls 12 and 13 lying to the outside of the seams 10 and 11, respectively, the partition wall portions being otherwise free from attachment to the underlying sleeve forming web. The webs are withdrawn from their supply rolls and advanced around the sealing roll 8 by means of pinch rolls 14 and 15, whereupon the webs pass around an idler roll 16 Which positions them for movement toward the former or mandrel 17 suspended from a support 17a. However, upon passage beyond the idler 16 the partition forming web is first contacted by a sweep 18 which acts to infold the partition wall 13 to overlie the portion of the web 6 lying between the seams 10 and 11, the parts thus assuming the condition illustrated in FIG. 5, with partitions 12 and 13 both extending in the same direction. Guide rolls 19 are also provided to position the webs for contact with the leading edge of the mandrel 17 about which the sleeve forming web 1 is folded to form a tubular sleeve.

Sweep means 20 are provided to infold the side edges of the liner about the mandrel, the sweeps 20 terminating in vertically disposed edges 21 which juxtapose the opposite side edges of the liner web 1 to form an upstanding fin 22, as will be best seen in FIG. 6. The fin is then folded over or flattened against the upper surface of the now tubed liner by means of the folding bars 23 and 24, whereupon the seam may be engaged and held in folded position by means of one or more hold down wheels 25 which maintain the folded fin in position for contact by the heating bar 26 (FIG. 2) which acts to fuse together the juxtaposed marginal edges of the liner which define the fin 22. Preferably the heating bar will be followed by a cooling bar 27 which acts to cool the fin seam. Either concurrently or sequentially with the formation of the fin seam, seals are effected between the free side edges of the partition walls 12 and 13 and the overlying areas of the tubed sleeve. To this end, the elongated mandrel 17 is provided, as best seen in FIG. 8, with elongated narrow slots 28 and 29 extending lengthwise thereof from the trailing end of the mandrel, the slots being positioned to overlie the free side edges of partition walls 12 and 13. In other words, the partition walls 12 and 13 will underlie the mandrel 17 with only their free marginal edges exposed through the slots 28 and 29, respectively, the slots preferably being provided with beveled edges 30 which facilitates the deflection of the webs into the slots in a manner which will now be explained.

As seen in FIG. 9, small steel wheels 31 and 32 are positioned beneath the mandrel 17 in alignment with the slots 28 and 29, respectively, the wheels acting to press the undersurface of the liner web and the free edges of the partition walls upwardly through the slots so that the free edges of the partition walls will be juxtaposed to the inner surface of the overlying portion of the liner, whereupon a seal is effected between the free side edges of the partition walls and the upper portion of the liner by means of the overlying heating bars 33 and 34 which are also aligned with the elongated slots '28 and 29 in the mandrel. It will be evident that the application of heat must be controlled so as not to heat the side edges of the partition walls to the extent that their undersurfaces will become sealed to the areas of the sleeve underlying the slots 28 and 29. It has been found that this can be successfully done with only minimal adherence of the partition walls to the underlying areas of the sleeve; but in order to offset any tendency for the side edges of the partition walls to adhere to the sleeve, the slots 28 and 29 terminate at their trailing ends in offset or hooked portions 37 and 38, which as the tubular sleeve advances, will pass beneath the side edges of the partition walls and the underlying surface of the sleeve, thereby forcing them apart in the event they have been stuck together.

Upon passage of the now completed liner tubing beyond the mandrel, it will pass between sets of squeeze rolls 39 and 40 and then cutting rolls 41 and 42 which will coact to sever the continuous tubular structure into unit lengths, one of which is indicated at 43 in FIG. 2.

The completed liner structure is illustrated in partially expanded condition in FIG. wherein it will be seen that the free side edges of the partition walls have been sealed to the overlying portions of the tubular liner by means of lines of seal 44 and 45. The erected or squaredup condition of the sleeve structure is illustrated in FIG. 11. As will be understood by the worker in the art, the liner structure will normally be associated with a conventional four-wall folding carton while in the flatfolded condition, and will assume the erected condition when the surrounding carton is erected. A typical folding carton containing the liner structure of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 12, the carton being generally indicated at 46. Preferably, the ends of the liner will extend beyond the carton body walls so as to be readily accessible for filling and sealing to complete the package. Of course, the liner structures may be used as such, i.e., without the surrounding carton, depending upon the type of package desired.

Modifications may be made in the invention without departing from its spirit and purpose. For example, while the type of mandrel illustrated in FIG. 8 is preferred, it is within the spirit of the invention to employ a mandrel having elongated slots with which the partition walls are aligned so that the free side edges of the partition walls may be pulled through the slots so as to overlie the mandrel, such arrangement making it unnecessary to provide the wheels 31 and 32 and the hooked ends 37 and 38', since the mandrel itself will prevent the undersurfaces of the side edges of the partition walls from contacting the underlying areas of the liner sleeve. Similarly, the particular forms of sealing and cooling bars do not constitute limitations on the invention, and heated sealing wheels may be employed if so desired.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

-1. A method of continuously forming tubular liners divided integrally into three compartments by a single web of partition forming material which comprises the steps of:

advancing a pair of fiat webs one of which is substantially wider than the other, and as said webs are being advanced, juxtaposing the two webs while in flat condition with the narrower web lying within the confines of the wider web;

sealing the narrower web to the wider web along a pair of spaced apart seam lines extending lengthwise of the webs, the said seam lines being spaced inwardly from the opposite side edges of the narrower web so as to define a pair of partition walls extend ing freely outwardly beyond said seamlines in opposite directions;

infolding one of the partition walls so formed so as to cause it to extend in the same direction as the other partition wall;

tubing the wider web with the folded narrower web enclosed therein; and

sealing the free side edges of the partition walls to the tubed wider web along seam lines extending lengthwise of the tubed web on the side thereof opposite the said first named pair of seam lines. -2. The method claimed in claim 1 wherein said wider web has at least one heat sealable surface and said narrower web has two heat sealable surfaces, including the steps of advancing said webs with the narrower web juxtaposed to the heat sealable surface of said wider web, and heat sealing said webs to form said seam lines.

3. The method claimed in claim 2 wherein said wider web is tubed around an elongated fiat mandrel having a spaced apart pair of slots therein extending lengthwise of the mandrel, including the steps of passing the folded narrower web beneath the mandrel with the free side edges of the partition walls aligned with the slots in the mandrel, and sealing the free side edges of the partition walls to the tubed wider web by causing them to pass through the slots in the mandrel for contact with the overlying surface of the tubed wider web.

4. In apparatus for continuously forming tubular liners divided internally into three compartments by a single web of partition forming material:

means for continuously advancing and juxtaposing a pair of webs one of which is wider than the other;

means for sealing said narrower web to said wider web along a pair of spaced apart seam lines extending lengthwise of the webs, with the seam lines spaced inwardly from the opposite side edges of the narrower web so as to define a pair of partition walls extending freely outwardly beyond the seam lines in opposite directions;

sweep means for infolding one of the partition walls so formed to cause it to extend in the same direction as the other partition wall;

an elongated flat mandrel extending in the direction of travel of the webs, a pair of elongated slots in said former extending lengthwise thereof in spaced apart relation and projecting forwardly from the trailing end of the mandrel;

means for feeding said webs beneath said mandrel with the folded narrower web uppermost;

means for folding the opposite side edges of the wider web over the side edges of the mandrel and for juxtaposing the opposite marginal edges of the wider web;

sealing means positioned to effect a seal between the juxtaposed edges of the wider web;

means for causing the free side edges of the partition walls to pass through the slots in the mandrel for contact with the inner surface of the tubed wider of the partition walls into contact with the overlying porweb in areas overlying the mandrel; and [ions of the tubed wider web, means for sealing the said free side edges of the partition walls to the overlying areas of the tubed wider References Cited web. 5. The apparatus claimed in claim 4 wherein said seal- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS ing means each comprise heating bars for forming heat 2517,576 11/1952 Befgstein 9- sealed seal lines. 3,104,596 9/1963 Bergstein et a1. 9335X 6. The apparatus claimed in claim 5 wherein the elongated slots in said mandrel are positioned to overlie the 10 THERON CONDON, Primary Examiner free side edgesof said partition walls, and wherein the NEIL ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner means for causing the partition walls to pro ect upwardly through said slots comprise wheels underlying said slots, CL said wheels each having a portion thereof projecting upwardly through the slots so as to press the free side edges 15 93 20) 35; 22956 

